Hey guys i just wanted to see if any of you could help me find a lab pup. Im just about finished with my duck boat project and Ive realized I need a retriever. I have been looking on craigslist and either you gotta snatch one up moments after its posted or you gotta pay out the ass . Soo i was hoping one of you guys could help me out with either a free pup or one for a reasonable price .Obviously if im building a duck boat out of plywood I dont have $350 or $500 or $1000 people are asking for a pup. Im just hoping for a favor from one hunter to the next thats all.

Bottom line is, if you want a dog that requires less training due to good genes, then you'll have to pay high dollar. You can buy a cheap Lab that has little hunting back ground, but when he starts peeing during correction, it may be time to move on.

Backyard dogs are a REAL crap shoot. Bad hips, dumb as a rock, bad elbows, bad eyes, no desire to hunt...and buying a backyard breeder's dog just encourages them to breed more.

You can get lucky though, but I'd rather save my money for a few years. This isn't a shotgun you can throw in the corner. It's a 15-ish year investment. Better to save now and get good genetics than have to pay lots of money for bad joints or watch a dog deteriorate from hip dysplasia. It's no fun.

"A man may not care for golf and still be human, but the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is supercivilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him." Aldo Leopold

quackadikt wrote:Backyard dogs are a REAL crap shoot. Bad hips, dumb as a rock, bad elbows, bad eyes, no desire to hunt...and buying a backyard breeder's dog just encourages them to breed more.

You can get lucky though, but I'd rather save my money for a few years. This isn't a shotgun you can throw in the corner. It's a 15-ish year investment. Better to save now and get good genetics than have to pay lots of money for bad joints or watch a dog deteriorate from hip dysplasia. It's no fun.

Wait For It , Wait For It , I agree

I bought a akc registered yellow lab about a year ago. She would retrieve but just not that into it . Tried to introduce her to guns and . She ran faster than the opposite direction. Couple months ago she all the sudden became birdy as any bird dog. Re-introduced the gun and now she is getting dam good.

Like mentioned, it is a crap shoot but in my recent experience I got lucky. I didn't wanna pay a lot because I already have good bird dogs. I picked the mentioned dog up for a killer deal. pm me , might be able to get you some help for a cheap dog but again its a crap shoot.

"When the tires hit the mud , it will right the wrongs"

Why do I shoot 3.5" shells for ducks and geese ? Because they don't make 4" yet

Good info from QA and BFM. If your willing to pay less for a questionable dog and spend the money on food and vet bills, then take the risk however you must.

My first BLM was from a "Backyard breeder" and didn't have a very good pedigree. I trained the s t out of him, but all he did was run around and play on our first Dove hunt Sept. 1 many moons ago. I just gave up and tied him to a clothes line in my backyard.

In mid Oct. I went to visit my uncle near where I lived in SE OKla and noticed a crap load of Dove flying on a property next to his house. I got permission, broke the speed limit home to grab my gun and thought ah hell, I'll give the POS one last chance. Not only did I fill my limit in 30 minutes, but my dog retrieved every one of the birds, was dumbfounded! I learned my lesson and won't give up easy on any dog I train.

Yeah I know what you mean about it being a crap shoot. I have a German short haired pointer from a line of duel champion gun dogs(rugerheims Ice breaker was his grand daddy) but it took two years for that dog to get with the program but since hes been awesome. Ive trained labs before Unfortunately my last lab was hit by a truck at only two years old but he sure was a good retriever. I got him from a family friend no particular pedigree.

"A man may not care for golf and still be human, but the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is supercivilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him." Aldo Leopold

Yea, some of them do. I know some guys that have some decent duck dogs(as long as it isn't witch-tit cold) with their GSPs. My Springer isn't exactly a cold weather dog, but she loves it enough that she doesn't really give a crap about it. And with a vest on, her core stays pretty warm.

"A man may not care for golf and still be human, but the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is supercivilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him." Aldo Leopold

NickFranco wrote:ive taken him hunting before he is very dedicated but he cant sit still or quite for more than 5 seconds

A lab won't either if you don't teach them too...

"A man may not care for golf and still be human, but the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is supercivilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him." Aldo Leopold

which is why i want a pup. Ive taken my GSP Jack duck hunting and he loves it. he has jumped 15 feet down off the levee to retrieve a teal i shot. However he is a much better quail hunter than a retriever plus hes about 9 years old

before y'all go completely discounting pups from parties other than career breeder/trainers....many a backyard litter come from lines that rival some of these major operations....i got coco from a hobby breeder, and her pedigree and bloodlines are top notch...better than that of some breeders i researched. i've seen that $400 runt of the litter point birds that $2500 pointers completely missed. i've seen her out swim, out sniff, and out perform dogs with a price tag quadruple what i picked her up for...granted her point isn't going to win any beauty pageants, and she'd probably get laughed out of a field trial, but she brings back damn near any bird i shoot, and any of her performance faults are more due to my mediocre training than anything else. all i'm saying is, if the pedigree and bloodlines are there, it doesn't much matter if a pup is whelped at a fancy kennel, or in a cardboard box in someone's garage...

I'm talking about the, "well I've got an awesome duck dawg, and my neighbor has a good looking block-headed 100lb lab, so we're going to breed them and make puppies" kind of person. I don't care much about blood lines at all. I just want to know that the dog comes from hunting stock and the parents have health certs. In fact, I'll take a dog from straight hunting stock with zero titled dogs in their pedigree and health certs over a dog with titles in every generation and no health certs. Watching joints and eyes go bad because of bad genetics is no fun. Trust me. I've got an 11yr old lab that came from the kind of breeder I mentioned(long story short, my Mama surprised me with a puppy because she knew I was looking for one...). He has/had tons of meat-dog talent. Fantastic marker and great nose. I haven't been able to really hunt him for about 3 years now due to bad joints. I'm not saying that a $1,000 dog would fair any better, but I'd have a lot better odds of them still hunting.

There's a huge difference in a responsible "hobby breeder" and someone that breeds dogs just to breed them(mostly because their dog was the best dog ever and they just wanted a puppy from it).

"A man may not care for golf and still be human, but the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is supercivilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him." Aldo Leopold

??????? Will you be able to buy the pup food for the rest of its life and get its required shots?

Just helping you think it through as you continue to shop for a pup. Since you say your on a tight budget. Having a lab requires a lot of time spent training the correct way and having patience. And by the way, you wont be able to hunt with the pup until following season anyways. Maybe have to take another year off

I already bought a pup back in May, I got him off craigslist for $120. I didnt want to pay some ****** $800+ for a pup just for the credentials. He is healthy, well taken care of and loves to retrieve especially in the pool. He weights 25lbs now and will be getting his final shots in two weeks.

NickFranco wrote:I already bought a pup back in May, I got him off craigslist for $120. I didnt want to pay some ****** $800+ for a pup just for the credentials. He is healthy, well taken care of and loves to retrieve especially in the pool. He weights 25lbs now and will be getting his final shots in two weeks.

It's going to come back and bite you in the a*** eventually. There is a substantial difference in bloodlines. You are playing a heavy gamble that he won't be stupid or have major health issues. Even a "responsible backyard breeder" is not actually responsible. They do not do the due diligence to do the appropriate health certifications so it is very likely their puppies or future puppies will have and pass on harmful genes. By buying cheap puppies you're encouraging and furthering the poor health of typical run of the mill labs. Those "credentials" are essentially a guarantee of long term health and quality hunting experiences.

If you play that game long enough it will come back and bite you with thousands of dollars worth of vet bills, dogs that don't have naturally bred instincts in them, etc. venture into the dog forum and see how often people come in with their backyard bred dogs asking for why it won't begin to train as a well bred dog should. If you've never actually seen a well bred and trained lab from proven lines you don't know what you're missing. But hey spend your money as you please.

Ask yourself, how many people buy a cheap lab and end up upgrading, vs how many buy a well bred lab and go back to a backyard bred craigslist dog?

A few years back I decided I wanted a hunting partner and all around buddy.Worked too much to get a pup, and knew little about training.I looked at alto of kennels around the country and chose to get a started 1.5 year old yellow from Wind River Labs in Washington state.Trap was not CHEAP. Has awesome bloidlines, and came with health guarantees.

I could not have picked a better dog.If I would have known him prior to buying him, I woulda paid 3 times what I did.The kennel owner got to know me and offered to switch dogs from the one I was gonna get, because she felt Trap was a better match to me.She was so right.

My advice would be, is to research, talk to breeders, tell them what you want, everything about you, and since they know their dogs, let them pick one to compliment your life style.

Also, a started dog is more expensive, but you know your getting one that's not a dude, has some training, and you don't have to deal with the puppy stage.

NickFranco wrote:I dont care about bloodline in the slightest, for any reason. I will retrieve my own damn ducks before i pay some **** head almost 1000 dollars for the results of his dogs ****.

I can see that you truly grasp the concept of "breeding for the betterment of the breed". Good luck to you and your pup.

"A man may not care for golf and still be human, but the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is supercivilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him." Aldo Leopold

"A man may not care for golf and still be human, but the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is supercivilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him." Aldo Leopold